


Just One Day

by hecateandhoney (LiveLoveLikeMe)



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: Birthday, Established Hackle, F/F, Fluff, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 10:50:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17507198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLoveLikeMe/pseuds/hecateandhoney
Summary: All Hecate wanted was one day without chaos-- one day where no one became a troll, broke a founding stone, or tossed a bucket of water in her face.  Ada was determined to give her just that.Established Hackle, One-Shot.





	Just One Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm back! Hecate looked pretty tired of all the nonsense after 3.04, and this is where my brain went with it lol. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> I also hope this tagged correctly. I have never been given such weird tagging options for this fandom before, but it's giving me a bunch of 98 characters mixed together with these, which is just strange. Fingers crossed it's a glitch that goes away.

One day.

Ada had been on Hecate’s case all week about what she wanted for her birthday, as she did every year, usually to no avail.  When Hecate did give her an answer, it was always for some potions supply for the classroom that Ada always reminded her was going to be supplied regardless.  Hecate’s birthday gift was supposed to be something for _her._

She’d finally succeeded at wearing her down this year, however, after a particularly grueling day dealing with a very troll-like Ethel Hallow. 

“Just one day,” Hecate had grumbled, dropping into Ada’s office chair and rubbing a hand across her forehead.  “All I want is one day without any of these ridiculous shenanigans.”

And so Ada took the request to heart and began to spread the word.  This year for Hecate’s birthday, they would work together to ensure that nothing went wrong at Cackle’s for an entire day.  She covered all her bases, even recruiting some of her more troublesome students to help keep everyone in line, and as she woke up that morning, Ada felt very good about her gift for Hecate this year.

Of course, Ada hadn’t actually told Hecate of her plans—figuring that would ruin the effect of a nice surprisingly calm day—and she began to realize this might be a mistake when she entered the great hall for breakfast and Hecate was sitting very still, squinting around the room with a frown on her face.

“Is something the matter, dear?” Ada asked nervously, sitting by her side and patting Hecate’s arm to draw in her attention.  Surely they couldn’t have allowed a catastrophe to happen already?

“Nothing, which is precisely the problem,” Hecate grumbled. 

“Pardon?”

“Everything is all too calm.  There is something afoot they are all working very hard to conceal, and I _will_ get to the bottom of it.”  Hecate’s hawkish eyes flashed across the room to the usual culprits—Mildred, Ethel, even to Beatrice and Julie Hubble.  Ada could sense she was about to do just that and begin stalking around in some sort of tactical investigation, and so she sighed, patting the top of Hecate’s hand and smiling over at her.

“I had hoped to keep it as a surprise for you, but I can see it’s only worsening matters.”

“What _surprise?”_ Hecate asked skeptically, giving Ada the same appraising look she’d just been shooting around the room.

“You said last week that you wanted a single day with no nonsense or trouble, so as a birthday gift to you, we’ve all been spreading about the word for everyone to be on their best behavior,” Ada explained.

She had expected Hecate to at least give her a hint of a smile at the idea, even if an outright display of affection at the front of the dining hall was almost undoubtedly out of the question.  She had not, therefore, expected Hecate’s reaction to be one of dismay.

“Oh, Ada, you didn’t,” she said, jaw hanging open and eyes widening dramatically like someone had stolen her broom out from under her.

“I don’t see what you’re so upset about,” Ada replied, exasperated.  “You ask every year that I don’t make a fuss and get you a bunch of gifts, and this year you asked for a day with no disasters, so I finally listened.  If it’s because everyone will know it’s your birthday, I’m sorry to say it was already a widely known fact, even among the students.  Gwen accidentally posted out the staff room calendar instead of the finals calendar to all the students last term.”

Hecate sighed like it pained her, and she closed her eyes, forcing her face to soften somewhat before she looked back at Ada.  At her other side, Dimity and Julie Hubble took their seats, chattering away in complete ignorance of the turmoil taking place beside them.

“Happy Birthday, Miss Hardbroom,” Dimity said pointedly.

“Yes, Happy Birthday, Miss Hardbroom,” Julie echoed, enunciating her name in full.  Both proceeded to giggle slightly to themselves before they returned to their conversation, not bothering to wait and see how Hecate took it.

It was obvious what they were doing.  Neither woman ever called Hecate by her preferred name, instead slapping on nicknames she despised, but Ada’s pleas for one day of peace had been heard.  With a smug look, she waved her hand in their direction as if to say, “See?”

“This is exactly what I was worried about,” Hecate said dryly.  “The moment you put the idea in their heads for a day without trouble, they all start scheming it up,” Hecate explained.

“They wouldn’t do that to you,” Ada said with a frown, “even the ones you frighten have too much respect for you to do anything to intentionally ruin your birthday.”

Hecate worried her bottom lip, looking like she wanted to contradict that statement but knew Ada would never let her get away with it.  Instead, she settled on, “Even if it is not intentional, they always find a way.  Last year we needed them to behave for _one_ day during an inspection and I was _drugged_ in my own classroom,” she sniffed pointedly and shuddered.

“Yes, that was rather unsavory, but to be fair to the point here, you did keep the inspection from them,” Ada tried.  “So it was really more like a normal day in their minds.”

“Fine.  Then let us discuss _every_ visit from the Great Wizard since Mildred Hubble and Ethel Hallow arrived, or the _one day_ they were all supposed to leave the freezing school and three of them ended up trapped inside with us.  Face it, Ada, as soon as you so much as whisper a need for particular behavior into the air in this school, it only makes everything worse.”

As if to prove her point, at that moment, Mildred and Ethel ran smack into one another, spilling their breakfasts all over.  There was a tense moment of silence where everyone watched it play out, Hecate with a knowing expression directed at Ada.  Ada worried her bottom lip and watched them carefully, taking note of their standoff and the building fight she could just hear getting ready to break free.

_Come on, girls,_ Ada thought desperately _, just one day_.

And then something amazing happened.  Ethel caught Ada’s eye and took a deep breath, relaxing her shoulders.  “I should have watched where I was going,” she said tightly, but politely enough that it shocked Mildred into action.

“Oh, no, it was my fault, too,” she said hurriedly, clumsily righting both their trays and looking down at the mess.  “I’ll clean it up.”

The tension in the room broke, everyone slowly going back to their meals and conversations, except for Hecate, who was staring on at the scene as though she’d been splashed with another bucket of water.

Ada, proud of them for finding it within themselves to resolve the incident, and more than a little nervous to see the results of Mildred’s cleaning spell on what was supposed to be an accident-free day, waved a hand and smiled as the porridge rose neatly back into their bowls.

“No harm done, girls,” Ada praised, giving them a wink and waving them off back to their table.

She was still smiling when she looked back over at Hecate, who was watching her with what could only be unguarded surprise.

“You genuinely mean to make this day truly free from incident,” she said, like she was hearing it for the first time.

Ada nodded.  “Of course, dear.  It’s what you asked for, isn’t it?”

“I suppose I did,” Hecate said a little breathlessly.  She looked thoughtful for a moment, smiled over at Ada, and proceeded to return her attention to her breakfast, finally seeming to fractionally relax.

“And it will all be in vain if you go around looking for disaster all day.  Just trust me to have it under control, hmm?  You’ll see, it’ll be a lovely day, and we might even be able to slip away to have dinner a little more privately tonight,” Ada whispered.

Hecate paused, spoon halfway to her mouth.  “But still on the grounds, yes?  Let’s not trust them all _too_ much.”

“Agreed,” Ada said, smiling.  Yes, she was quite sure this was going to go swimmingly.  Finally, she was giving Hecate the birthday she deserved.

 

 

It was very much _not_ going swimmingly, Ada amended sometime closer to lunch. 

As far as she could tell, Hecate was somehow thankfully in the dark about it, floating about with only a little hesitance under the illusion that Ada had everything under control.  There were tiny blessings in a storm, it seemed.

Everyone had _tried_ , she would give them that—at least through breakfast. 

Then, somehow, there was a dragon.

Ada did not know how it came to be in the school, and really, it was only a small one.  Almost cute, she had to admit.  What she did know was that some of the second years were cowering in the corner of her office looking highly suspicious while she stood back to back with Julie Hubble, who was wielding a broom like it might somehow repel dragonfire.  It was around six feet in length and green, likely a baby, but its fire certainly scorched like an adult’s. 

Ada looked at the clock on the wall and huffed.  Hecate would be here any minute—she always stopped by in the short break before lunch to brief Ada on her morning class reports—and there was absolutely _no way_ she was going to walk in on them and find a dragon on today of all days.

“Miss Hardbroom will be here shortly,” Ada declared, frazzled.  “I don’t know who is responsible or what you four had to do with it, but I’m putting you in charge of finding a way to get rid of it.”  Ada sounded much surer of her plan than she felt.

“Me?” Julie asked desperately, shrieking as the dragon’s tail took another swipe at her.  “But what am I supposed to do?  I know you mean well, Miss Cackle, but doesn’t this seem like exactly the kind of situation that needs a Miss Hardbroom?”

Ada thought on it with a sigh.  She was right, and normally, Ada would not hesitate to consult Hecate on such a matter.  However, if she failed now, Hecate would never again trust her to arrange such a day, and she was not about to be proven wrong because of a teensy little dragon problem.

“I’m sorry, but not today.  I need to make sure whatever happens, she’s distracted from noticing anything’s wrong.  Now, find Miss Drill if you need to, Ms. Hubble.  Alert the whole rest of the staff if it’s necessary.  Hecate is going to be here any minute, so I need to act quickly.  I’m going to transfer the dragon to the great hall.  Those doors should hold it long enough for you to get reinforcements while the girls find the reversal spell that will undo whatever it is they’ve done.”

“Should hold?” Julie asked uneasily, but there was no time to waste on false assurances.

With a wave of her hand, Ada banished the dragon to the locked inside of the great hall.  Everyone breathed, Julie’s mop finally lowering.  “Right, now off with you all before Miss Hardbroom arrives.”

Ada nearly shoved them out the door, none looking at all too pleased that she was leaving them to solve this, but honestly.  What did they expect?  They had exactly one job on Hecate’s birthday—don’t cause trouble—and they’d somehow summoned a _dragon._

No sooner had Ada sat down on her chair to catch her breath than Hecate popped in, right on time.  She looked curiously down at the winded headmistress, who upon the sight of her, tried to sit up and calm her racing heart.

“Hecate, did we have a meeting?” she asked.

“We always meet before lunch,” Hecate said, frowning.  She stepped closer and bent down to examine Ada.  “Are you feeling all right?  You’re flushed.”

“I, uhm, yes.”  Ada cleared her throat and gestured to the chair nearest her.  Slowly Hecate lowered herself, looking not at all convinced.  “I’m fine, dear,” she reassured.  “Just a bit winded.”

Hecate looked about ready to make some quip when she froze, mouth hanging open and staring at the chair beside where Ada sat.

“Why is your pillow charred?” she squeaked out, looking up in exasperation.  “Ada what is going on?”

“What?  Oh!”  Ada glanced down and flushed with embarrassment.  It seemed their dragon friend had gotten a little too close to her upholstery.  Pity.

“It’s fine,” she said quickly, brushing off a bit of the burnt fabric and laughing in spite of herself.  “I just had a little accident with a candle before.  That’s why I was so out of breath,” she lied, looking up and smiling to cover it.  “I really should be more careful.”

“Yes, you should,” Hecate said slowly, like it might be a trap.  Ada knew she hadn’t left her much to disagree with, so she wasn’t surprised when Hecate shook herself out of it and ploughed ahead.  “Anyways, as for our meeting, I thought I should start by updating you on the progress of the third years…”

Ada did try to listen as Hecate droned on, but her mind was stuck firmly on the dragon predicament.  At the end of this meeting, they would be heading off to lunch in the great hall, and she was beginning to worry she hadn’t given Julie and the girls enough time to handle their fiery friend. 

“Ada, are you listening?” Hecate asked indignantly.

“Hmm?  Oh, yes, of course,” Ada said, smiling.  Hecate updated her almost daily—she was highly unlikely to have missed anything new.

“I said it’s time we leave for lunch.  Are you coming?”  Hecate stood, clicking her timepiece closed and holding out a hand to help Ada up.  She panicked, and when she took Hecate’s hand, yanked her forward.

Hecate tumbled in a scramble of limbs onto Ada’s lap, elbowing her sharply in the side on accident, but Ada smiled through the pain for the sake of delaying them.

“Ada!” she cried, struggling to get up.

“Oh, so sorry, dear.  I didn’t mean to tug you quite so hard,” Ada lied.

“Clearly,” Hecate scoffed.

“But I did hope we could sit together for a minute.  There’s no rush to get to lunch, is there?”

Hecate’s eyes widened, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but she nodded slowly and allowed Ada to help her shift around into a sitting position across Ada’s lap like they’d done so many times before to nuzzle together in the same chair.

Ada leaned up and kissed her cheek, rubbing her hand up and down Hecate’s arm until she got comfortable.  Despite her confusion, Hecate couldn’t help but smile.

“Darling, I love sitting with you, but it’s the middle of the day,” she scolded softly.

“But it’s your birthday,” Ada pressed gently, “I have all the time in the world for you today.”

“Oh?  And who will monitor the girls at lunch?”

“I think the other teachers can handle one lunch, don’t you?” Ada grinned and reached up to tip Hecate’s chin down, capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

“If you’re sure,” Hecate breathed, inches away from Ada’s lips.

It was just the diversion she had needed, and indeed, Ada wished she had thought of it even without the pressing dragon issue.  They didn’t make time for one another mid-day often enough, always so busy with the school.  It was nice to just be together, to know someone else had everything under control.

“Thank you,” Hecate murmured, breaking away from their kisses.  She wrapped her hands securely around Ada’s shoulders and brushed their noses together.  “I can honestly say this is the best birthday I’ve had, and that’s all thanks to you.  I don’t know how you managed it, but I envy your powers to succeed.”

Ada laughed nervously and bussed another kiss against her lips.  “Happy birthday.”

Far too soon came the bell signaling the end of lunch.

“Mmm, Ada,” Hecate laughed as Ada tried to hold her back, “this has been a welcome interruption to my day, I will admit, but I can’t just skip my classes.”

“Oh, right, I suppose you can’t.”  Ada frowned, fiddling with her thumbs while Hecate pulled away and stood to take her leave, waving a hand to fix their lipsticks.  She looked down at her partner with a raised eyebrow and pursed her lips.

“What has gotten into you?”

Ada panicked, and Hecate—ever in tune with Ada’s mood—noticed it.  She flinched.

“Is there another reason you want to keep me in your office?” she asked pointedly, letting out a deep breath. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Ada lied, but it was too late.  Hecate’s suspicions had been aroused.

“Then I supposed I’ll just head to class the long way to make certain the school is still standing, hmm?”  Hecate strode over and was out Ada’s office door before she could think up another excuse to stop her.

In a flash, Ada summoned a paper and pen, wrote simply the words, “She’s coming,” and transferred it to the hand of Julie Hubble.  It was their last resort.  Not waiting another beat, Ada was out of her seat and trailing behind after Hecate.

There was a reason the taller witch usually chose to transfer herself around, and it wasn’t only because she really liked to show off.  Ada was well aware of the fact that Hecate’s dramatic dresses were rather restrictive around the calves, and even with the high vent up the back, her legs could only move to carry her so fast.  For this reason, it did not take long for Ada to job up behind her and begin her last desperate attempts.

“Hecate, your potions lab is the other way,” she reminded gently.

“I am very aware.  However, it is quite clear that there is not a pupil in sight despite the fact that the bell just rang, and as I am sure you can hear, there is a rather loud noise coming from this direction.  I’m not sure what you’re trying to hide from me, Ada, but I believe I’ve waited long enough to find out.”

Hecate marched on, picking up an alarming amount of speed as they neared the great hall.  Ada cringed.  The doors were shut, but there was a great raucous coming from inside, and it did not sound promising.

“Hecate, are you sure you wouldn’t rather return to my office for some tea?  We never did eat.”

But it was no use.  Hecate was no longer giving her so much as a glance as they narrowed in on the door.  As a last ditch attempt, Ada threw herself in front of the handle, blocking Hecate’s path.

“Ada,” she sighed, frustrated.  “If there was any doubt remaining, it’s gone now.  You’ve been hiding me in your office, distracting me with kisses, because there _is_ trouble, _as I said there would be_ , and you don’t want me to know.  Stop being childish and move aside.”

Ada frowned and drooped her shoulders, but she obeyed Hecate’s request and stepped to the side to let her through.  “No trouble behind this door exists to you until you open it,” Ada warned.

“Ada, as nice as that thought may be, and as much as I appreciate your attempts to make my birthday one without chaos, we both know it isn’t true.”

Saying goodbye to her one successful gift idea and the promise of a nice calm evening with Hecate, for once without a complaint in the world to plague her, Ada clenched her fists and allowed the other witch to open the door.  She was too afraid to look ahead through, knowing the room would probably be half in flames.

“Surprise!”

“What?” Hecate squeaked, looking back over at Ada with her jaw hanging open.  “It’s a… birthday party?” She scrunched up her face. 

Ada, confused as to how Hecate could confuse a dragon emergency for a party, peeked around the door frame and took in the sight before her.  Nearly the whole school was there, half of them out of breath.  Ada spotted a scorched curtain off to the side being tugged down gallantly by Julie.  Lunch was still over on the table waiting to be served late, a tray of mysterious cupcakes suddenly added to it.  And hanging up from the ceiling was a big, cheesy banner reading, “Happy Birthday!”  All things considered, it was quite a pathetic party—but for a dragon cover-up, it was brilliant, and Ada clasped her hands together happily.

“Yes, exactly!  Happy Birthday!” Ada cheered, tugging on Hecate’s arm to bring her into the room.  She was well aware that Hecate was not a party person, and that Hecate was aware of her awareness, so added in a close whisper, “They wanted to do something special for you when they found out.  I managed to convince them to keep it small, but I was trying to hold you off so we wouldn’t ruin the surprise.  Let them have their fun and I’ll make it up to you later?”

Hecate turned wide, almost teary eyes on her and nodded. 

“Happy birthday, Miss Hardbroom.  This is for you, from everyone!” said Mildred Hubble, bounding up to them with a smile on her face and a… Ada nearly choked on her own breath… a small glass figure of a strikingly familiar green dragon.  Mildred looked over at her and winked while Hecate took it gingerly in her hands to examine it.

There were definitely traces of a tear or two in her eyes, though she would likely never admit it.

“Thank you,” Hecate said awkwardly, accepting the gift that meant so much more than she would ever realize.  Ada had to wonder if this had been the dragon’s original form, and thought it better not to know.  Wherever it had come from, it was done burning down her school now, and she trusted Mildred to have done her due diligence by it.

While Hecate was swarmed by over-excited children who had broken into the cupcakes, Ada broke off and over to Julie.

“I trust all went well?” she asked coyly.

Julie huffed, still rubbing soot off her jacket to no avail.  “Hardly.  They found the spell, all right, and turned it right back into the little glass thing.  Apparently it was actually meant to be a present for Miss Hardbroom in the first place.  That’s how Millie came up with the idea to turn this into a party—when we got your message, there was no way to clear everyone out of here and get it all cleaned up in time.  So we tossed up that banner, magicked some cupcakes, and poof, just in time.”

“Excellent work!” Ada cheered, patting Julie on the shoulder.  “I think you’ve just managed to pull it off.  I can’t tell you how thankful I am.”

“Remember that feeling when I ask for a raise,” Julie teased, bumping their shoulders together.  “But really, I think you’ve done a good thing, I was happy to help.  Just look at her.  She hasn’t had a fright all day—she’s positively docile with the kids.  It’s done her good.”

Ada wouldn’t have used the word docile, exactly.  In fact, she could tell Hecate would soon be in need of a rescue, from the way she was slowly curling into herself and stiffening.  But for now, it was true, she was enjoying herself.  And so, lessons be damned, they had a birthday party.

 

 

“Thank you, Ada,” Hecate said, slipping into bed beside her that night.  She snuggled up close to Ada’s side, laying her head on her chest and sighing with relief.  “I had a wonderful birthday, and I do not usually mean that.  Your gift was admittedly delightful, even though I doubted your ability to pull it off, and even the party was… not unpleasant.”

Ada leaned down and kissed her on the nose, smiling softly at how content she looked.  “I’m happy you had a good day.”

“Who knows, perhaps they’ll even make a habit of it now that they’ve survived one day,” Hecate sighed sleepily.  With a snap of her fingers, the lights went out around them.

“Yes, perhaps.”  Ada bit her lip and snuggled down into the pillows, holding Hecate close, glad the darkness of the room was hiding what she knew would be a blush of embarrassment.

“Of course, it’s not every day we have a dragon in the school to keep them busy.”

Ada tensed.

“A dragon?” she tried.

Hecate laughed, shaking against her and nuzzling into Ada’s neck, kissing her softly, letting her know it was all right.  “There were burnt curtains and pillows—you didn’t even have a candle lit in your office today, Ada, you really need to lie better—and then Mildred Hubble handed me a very eye-opening glass dragon.  It’s a shame, I almost would have liked to see it.”

“I’m sure the second years would happily bring it back for you,” Ada teased.

“That’s all right.  I think one dragon adventure is more than enough.”

Ada sighed and said, “I’m sorry.  I really did try my best.”

“I know you did,” Hecate said softly, “and not only you, but everyone put so much effort into covering it all up just to give me my one day.  That was… kind.”

“You won’t tell them you know?”

“Not right now, at least.  Besides, it’s better to let them think they’ve gotten away with something under my nose.  They’ll slip up more easily next time, and I’ll be ready.”

“Oh, Hecate,” Ada chuckled, “I do so love you.”

Hecate leaned up in the dark, placing a kiss on Ada’s jaw and smirking against her cheek.  “Enough to finish what you started in your office earlier?”

“We’ve got a whole night to be uninterrupted.  Better make use of it.  It might not happen again until the next dragon arrives.”


End file.
